Vern Geishert

Vernon William Geishert

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 215 lb.
• School University of Wisconsin-Madison
• High School Richland Center High School
• Debut August 26, 1969
• Final Game October 2, 1969
• Born January 10, 1946 in Madison, WI USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Vern Geishert played part of one season in the majors with the California Angels.

Geishert went to high school in Richland Center, Wisconsin (a town northwest of Madison), and was noticed by scouts when he was a junior in high school pitching in the state tournament. Two years later, when he was attending the University of Wisconsin, he was drafted by the Angels in the January 1966 amateur draft. With the Quad Cities Angels that summer, he went 12-3 while posting a 1.13 ERA, which is still a Midwest League record. He threw a no-hitter against the Fox Cities Foxes on May 6th, and also hurled 6 shutouts while going the distance in 13 of his 16 starts. He moved up to Double A and Triple A that year, and spent 1967 with the AAA Seattle Angels. The next year, 1968, he was with the El Paso Sun Kings under manager Chuck Tanner, and hespent the next few years bouncing back and forth between Double A and Triple A.

Geishert was called up to the majors with California late in the 1969 season. He made his big league debut on August 26th, facing the Cleveland Indians. He entered the game in the third inning and gave up two earned runs over four innings of work to earn the win. He made his first start on September 1st against the Washington Senators and earned his first save against the Minnesota Twins on September 18th. He made the start and took his first major league loss against the Kansas City Royals on October 2nd, the final day of the season (and ultimately his final appearance in the bigs). Overall, he went 1-1 with a 4.65 ERA in 11 appearances for the Angels. During his brief stint with the club, he faced future Hall of Famers Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Luis Aparicio and Frank Robinson (they were a combined 3-for-12 against him).

Following the 1969 season, Geishert was traded to the Cincinnati Reds alongside Pedro Borbon and Jim McGlothlin in return for Alex Johnson and Chico Ruiz. He spent the next two seasons with the Indianapolis Indians and also played winter ball in Puerto Rico. In 1970 his Leones de Ponce team went to the Caribbean World Series.

In 1971, Geishert was part of one of the more lopsided trades in baseball history: he was dealy along with shortstop Frank Duffy to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder George Foster. Duffy played just 21 games for the Giants, and Geishert never pitched in the majors again; Foster went on to emerge as a key member of the Big Red Machine clubs of the 1970s and was a major league regular until 1986. After this trade, Vern decided to leave pro ball at age 25.

As of 2008, Geishert was still playing baseball locally in Madison, Wisconsin, for a men's senior league and for the Home Talent League, where he was one of their oldest players ever.